Review of the game shadow of mordor. Not the heroes Mordor deserves, but the ones it needs. ⇡ Your personal nemesis

Games in the Lord of the Rings universe are unlucky with original products, but Tolkien's legacy has acquired many clones of other people's games. What was not there - its own Battlefront, its own DotA, even its own final fantasy x( The Third Age, by the way, is not so bad against the background of goods). The announcement of Shadow of Mordor sounded like “its own Assassin’s Creed”, but for some reason I thought that the studio I loved in the past should have a good game this time. As if in the depths of Monolith, another ring was forged to command players: the irrational in Shadows of Mordor tends to dominate logic.

The story missions are nothing special, but without them it would be boring, and there are more texts with good voice acting in them than usual.

Sauron's henchmen killed the ranger Talion and his entire family, but a powerful elven spirit moved into his body, and now they will take revenge together with the grubby evil spirits. It is pointless to try to make this story more interesting than it is. Further development events are easy to guess, some of the characters are either well known or extremely predictable, all the characters have long been lit up in dozens and hundreds of other works. But belonging to the "Lord of the Rings" rescues Shadow of Mordor: epic fantasy rarely tells tricky stories, but scenery dear to the heart can make each such simple story special. And the events described in "Shadows" should be very interesting to fans of books and films: here they provide an opportunity to learn more about what Tolkien paid almost no attention to.

The scenario is short-lived, but the story missions are practically the only ones in which we are given the opportunity to enjoy good cutscenes and nicely voiced and staged dialogues. Apart from Gollum, Talion has few people to talk to, so each such - extremely banal - scene is truly pleasing. The paradox of the whole Shadow of Mordor lies in the fact that even if some of its elements are poorly executed, in general the game is still captivating and, more importantly, entertaining. Consuming the right portions of a story about a vendetta sewn with white thread and long runs around the open world, you can reach the finale of hours in 20. At the same time, you will not feel deceived, and there will still be some unfound artifacts and mysterious wall signs in Mordor: it would be desire, and in the modest arsenal of entertainment Shadow of Mordor will always find something to your liking.

Orcs and other creatures are full of all sorts of tricks, but Talion with the spirit is also not a bastard.

But whatever you end up doing, the Nemesis system is the star of Shadows. Although new enemies constantly appear in the cleared territories, and the consequences of Talion's sabotage activities do not affect their appearance, this "sandbox" pretends to be alive with all its might. The fact is that the orcs have their own hierarchy: in addition to the nameless Uruks, two dozen captains roam each map of Mordor, and somewhere in its bowels five leaders are hiding. In their rare moments of rest from a pesky ranger, they not only get drunk at feasts or hunt, but also fight among themselves for leadership. Theoretically, this means that by banging an officer, you can "weaken" Sauron. In practice, it all comes down to the fact that if some orc turned out to be too tough for you and killed you (Talion was already rejected by death, so it’s not difficult for him to resurrect again and again), then next time he will be even stronger. And if a ranger was killed by an ordinary Uruk, then he himself can become a commander.

The developers are very proud of this system, but orcs are orcs. Skinny, fat, tall or short - various faces and "signature" cries do not bring much variety. The creatures that escaped death, at the next meeting with Talion, promise to release his guts this time. Some threaten to avenge their rumpled faces, although Talion seems to have cut off their heads with one blow, but who cares about such trifles? This is where the pleasant conversations end. Each captain has his own set of weaknesses and invulnerability, so if you are lucky enough to stumble upon a freak who does not react to melee attacks and constantly calls for help, then ... congratulations, look for arrows or prepare a dagger.

The recruited orcs have the imprint of Talion's hand on their faces...

The normally inseparable pair of spirits and rangers bonded together do a fine job of taking down their enemies: the combat is a literal adaptation of Batman: Arkham Asylum and its sequel to Tolkien's world, adjusted for lethal weapons and bloody finishing moves. The ranger rushes between the orcs, parries their blows, dodges, uses a large number of special techniques. Perhaps this is obvious to some, but although the game looks and works great on PC, it feels like it is primarily focused on consoles in battles, so it's better to play on a gamepad.

And then, when it comes to clashes with captains and chieftains, it suddenly turns out that the dark knight imitator is not so strong. Death does not end the game, but somewhere in Mordor one (or maybe even more than one) orc becomes a conditional level more experienced. So, it's time to try other options.

In Shadow of Mordor, the most interesting thing happened to me when I was doing all sorts of nonsense: I walked around the area (the map here is small, so sometimes there is no desire to use the fast movement of “activated” towers), collected some roots, hunted animals . Almost every such object is a new page in the local encyclopedia, so Tolkien fans may be interested in this. And here I am, having cut the healing grass, I go to look for a flock of predators. The plan is this: saddling a caragora, I will break into the nearest orc camp, where one of the captains is sitting, on horseback, and quickly deal with him.

There are many useful tabs in the menu: on this one, for example, you can purchase new abilities. Some, however, give out only according to the plot.

At this time, another officer was also impatient to hunt. A sentinel from the nearest fortress noticed the beginning of the mess and raised the alarm, to which another high rank came running. Things smelled of fried, I jumped on one of the caragors who came running from behind the mountain (they love to eat orcs) and tried to hide from their pursuers. In Shadow of Mordor, it is not a shame to retreat: the Uruks themselves do not disdain this, and it will be better for you yourself if one of the creatures does not earn a "frag" on you. And at that moment, my original target also left the camp. It turned out that she has the ability to kill monsters: an armored Uruk laid down my steed with one blow. The chain of failures was interrupted by the nearest orc camp: having lured the whole crowd there, I “blew up” the fire, killed the “monster-boy”, and set a couple of animals on the rest, freeing them from the orc cages.

This completely random story is much more interesting than insipid story missions and certainly more fun than the monotonous side effects. Sometimes Shadow of Mordor feels like an interactive presentation of a future project, but for some reason it's also interesting to play. Even primitive stealth (how tired these blind sentries are already) and two-button parkour do not spoil the impression: spectacular jumps on a target from a great height, throwing an orc taken by surprise into the flames - all these details and an abundance of tactical possibilities do not allow you to break away from Shadow of Mordor.

To find out details about a particular orc leader, you need to interrogate "tongue", otherwise an attempt to quietly cut down the next captain will end with a loud "gotcha, little rat": some creatures are not at all afraid of being stabbed in the back.

And then, about eight or ten hours later, it suddenly turns out that in Shadows of Mordor there is a second map - of the same modest size, but now it is not a scorched wasteland, but a flowering meadow. And then that very Nemesis is finally revealed: now Talion, with the help of the elven spirit, can break the enemy and lure him to his side. If the first half of the game is constant pain and suffering, in which you only have people enslaved by Sauron among allies, then, having crossed the equator, Shadow of Mordor offers truly fresh operations with seemingly familiar variables.

The captured Uruk does not give himself away and roams the fields and fortresses with his friends, going about his idiotic orc business and completely ignoring Talion. Until he clenched his fist and ordered all of his sleeper agents in the area to attack nearby enemies. It's especially fun to covertly "poach" half of the Uruk camp, and then see who beats whom. Moreover, the tracker has the ability to brainwash an officer or even a leader, and then they will follow his orders. The variety is not great, but now Nemesis and I are starting to play on equal terms, because we have the opportunity to "convert" the captain-bodyguard of some leader, lure him into a trap, and then order the sent Cossack to attack his "boss". A very convenient alignment, because the traitor will take the place of his predecessor and become much more influential.

Sometimes dozens of orcs participate in battles, and this does not bother Shadow of Mordor at all. In addition, there are very nice effects. Especially the rain.

But it all comes down to the fact that apart from Nemesis, simple and familiar "stealth", parkour and combat system, there is nothing in Shadow of Mordor. The world looks good, there is no need to complain about the picture, just a clearing with hills and mountains looks like ... a clearing with hills and mountains. There are only ruins around here, designed, it seems, by one architect. Orc fortresses vary in layout, but still look pretty much the same. Except for the introduction, cutscenes and caves, the whole game takes place in the open air. There are no rooms in Mordor! And although I spent twenty hours on the plot and some side cases, not without pleasure, the local is too open world didn’t really offer me anything special: on each of the two maps, 95% of all territories are initially available, on which, apart from collecting the trinkets marked on the plan and killing orcs that sometimes appear directly (!) Out of thin air, there is absolutely nothing to do. I wouldn't want to use GTAV as an example - they are games from different leagues, but, say, in Arkham Asylum there was a feeling of progress, exploring the world, tasks sometimes started unexpectedly, but smoothly and always developed in an interesting way. Shadow of Mordor is well done, but cutscenes are rough and character progression is stupidly limited by the story. And, for example, you get tired of picking up runes for weapons at the moment when you realize that there are almost no normal “inserts” in “Shadows”, that is, almost immediately.

In fact, Nemesis sometimes gives birth to such colorful bosses that run in horror at the sight of Talion. Yes, and read their current plans and thoughts - pure pleasure. But all this is not enough: the world turned out to be rather schematic, so the system needs to be improved.

Shadow of Mordor catches the irrational in much the same way as Mount & Blade. There I wanted to gather an army more experienced, here I want to lure as many Sauron officers as possible. In Mount & Blade, this approach, however, did not lead to anything, and Shadow of Mordor has a clear outcome, after which you can return to Mordor and complete unfinished business - this saves her.

The Gondorian ranger Talion is killed at the Black Gate along with his wife and son. However, he does not find eternal rest after death. The Ghost inhabits him, preventing him from leaving for another world. Talion is doomed to wander around Mordor until he destroys the Black commanders who sent his family to the other world, and gets to their master - the Dark Lord.

The ghost strengthened Talion as if the ranger possessed one of the Rings of Power: he sees the invisible to an ordinary creature, can instill fear in the enemy and subjugate his will. And all because the spirit that moved into Talion and endowed him with superpowers, once upon a time was the lord of Eregion and the greatest elven blacksmith. His name was Celebrimbor. He was strong and immortal, proud and merciless. It was pride that killed him. Succumbing to the deception of Sauron, who took on an alien form, the blacksmith helped him forge the Rings of Power. Secretly from Celebrimbor, Sauron created the One Ring of Omnipotence, which the whole world was obliged to serve. What happened in the past with Celebrimbor? Why does he wander as a spirit? Why did he move into Talion? Will they cope with the army of Sauron and its lord? What awaits them on their way to Barad-dûr? - you will learn about all this in this game. The plot is presented very well: high-quality cinematics (not like Blizzard, of course, but quite worthy) with flashbacks to the past; the local “code” is very useful, in which a lot of information appears over time - briefly and to the point; amazing "acting game" of absolutely all the characters, "live" facial expressions - sometimes it is forgotten that this is just a game. However, the compelling story plays a secondary role. The most important thing in the game is the Nemesis system, which we will discuss below.

Barad-dûr (Black Tower) has been in ruins ever since the forces of Gondor defeated Sauron's army at the end of the Second Age.
However, as long as Sauron lives, Barad-dur cannot be completely destroyed. It was here that Sauron settled, returning to Mordor. Now, hiding behind a magical curtain, he began to restore his tower and prepare for the big War of the Ring.

In addition to this new system, which has not been seen anywhere else, the success of the game lies in the fact that it is not based on Jackson films, but with its own original story. As Shadow of Mordor lead designer Bob Roberts said in an interview with Eurogamer: “Our goal was not to create a game based on films. We didn't want to repeat the same events, but only wanted to make the best game we can and let everyone know that it is with its own own history". The game takes place between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Talion will meet characters familiar to fans of the universe. For example, Gollum here turned out to be almost the same as in Jackson's films. True, his presence and connection with Celebrimbor are not entirely clear in the game. But still a very nice fan service, fans of the universe will be delighted.

uruki
Uruk Captains
Karagor

And now about Nemesis - the enemy hierarchy system, which makes this game extremely interesting and unique. The environment seems to be alive - the hierarchy of power of the Uruks changes depending on our actions and decisions.

The Nemesis system never ceases to amaze even after ten hours of play. For example, when we are about to perform some side quest like the “Legend of the Bow”, brave guys, they are Uruk captains, can suddenly come up to us and insist on a showdown: if, for example, one of them was dissatisfied with the fact that you decently brushed him off in the past, and this since he already appears with metal handkerchiefs on damaged places (or with burns on his face - it all depends on how you dealt with him last time) and universal hatred for you, then another - it is possible, by the way, that it can come with friends, he is simply unhappy that you, a miserable little man, roam his lands - therefore, the evil Uruk decides to block your path. AI is not the smartest here (peripheral vision does not work very well - which is typical for games in the stealth genre), but they are uruks for that, they are supposed to be stupid.

It is very funny to watch the rank shifts of the Uruks - everyone wants to be head and shoulders above the other elite Orks. In particular, substituting each other. It is also interesting to follow such events: for example, some ordinary Uruk kills you, he is promoted, he goes one step higher, he gets more decent armor. Time passes, self-confidence comes to him, and he already begins to think about why not remove the higher captains or leaders. Uruks are moderately intimidating and funny. But it may seem to someone that they are made too comically, but I would like real horror to come from them. But everyone will admire the elaboration of each Uruk - they are drawn in such detail that it seems as if they are real. And they are all different, with their weaknesses and quirks.

Below is a video with a scene where one funny Uruk offers our hero a deal. There is also a moment with the collection of information.

We were pleased with the epic scenes when we enter into a “dialogue” with a large Uruk - an incredible performance: he, stomping importantly (always in slow-mo) to the roar of the crowd chanting his name, steps towards you. All this looks very impressive and intimidating, not everyone can resist, having the opportunity to escape. The Horde calls out the name of every Uruk in such scenes - it sounds so powerful that even the blood runs cold. It is possible that a horde of football fans took part in this.

Clearing the area from the Uruks is a lot of fun. You can rush into the crowd and start kneading everyone in a row, or you can climb somewhere higher where you can’t see us, covertly cut out the archers, and then watch the fun: you can release the caragor from the cage and watch how it tears apart these slimy creatures, or drop the hive to their head and watch the panic of the Uruks, or shoot from a bow into a fire (if you pump the right skill, there will be an explosion in a decent radius), in which the evil big men comfortably spent time, after which they will be blown to the sides. Also, for example, when we release a caragora, it can be lured to the desired zone (for example, where the crowd has gathered) by dropping the bait.

I liked such a detail as "auto-following" - let's call it that; there are times when you need to follow some character to get to a key point, and along the way he tells all sorts of interesting things. In Shadow of Mordor, this function is very convenient - the main character stomps after the satellite, but you can spin, spin or turn in the other direction, but once you release the gamepad, our character will go further where he needs to go. This is very convenient, because you can calmly examine the environment and at the same time listen to the interlocutor, and not press the “forward” button all the way.

The gameplay of the game can be described by the following formula: Assassin's Creed + Batman: Arkham City. Don't sigh desperately. It's not just AC in the Middle Earth universe. And there is nothing wrong with borrowing good ideas. A couple of buttons - attacks and counterattacks - are enough for a spectacular battle (hello, Batman), plus the timely pressing of some combinations will delight the player with vivid slow-mo finishing scenes. For defeated enemies, they give points that can be invested in skills: stealth kills from above, immobilization when shot in the leg, the ability to ride a caragora, and much more. Abilities are interesting and useful - you won't be bored when testing each of them. There is no choice of difficulty level in the game - simple Uruks are often easy to knead, but sometimes you have to work hard, especially when meeting with captains or leaders.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor will envelop with its atmosphere not only fans of the Middle-earth universe, but also people far from Tolkien's books. Music by Harry Shiman (he also wrote the OST for the series Bioshock games) fits perfectly into the game, giving it the true atmosphere of Mordor, which is not easy to leave. We will wait for new content, because SoM has a Season Pass. Monolith Productions (the creators of the F.E.A.R. series) did their best, surprising everyone with their new and extraordinary creation. The game turned out to be almost perfect, and deserves high praise. We look forward to the development of the Nemesis system, as well as its application in other interesting projects.

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One of best games in the universe of Middle-earth.

Man, of course, is omnivorous, but he is doing well with predatory instincts. Children begin to fight, scratch and bite each other before they learn to make articulate sounds. Man by nature is a killer and a hunter, there is no escape from this. Therefore, do not be surprised that most of the games are devoted just to hunting. Aliens, monsters, animals... and humans, of course. The goals are different, the essence is the same.

From the same opera, it is entirely dedicated to the massacre. People, orcs and elves are slaughtered here. But endless killing suddenly turns from an end into a means.

Ash nazg durbatulyk

While Bilbo is snoring peacefully with the Ring under his pillow, and Frodo hasn’t even reached his mother’s womb yet, far in the southwest, on the very border of Mordor, the Uruks (not to be confused with the Orcs!) are slaughtering the Gondorian sentinels. Among them is a certain Talion. He is forced to watch as his wife and son bleed from their wounds, but some dark ritual does not allow Talion himself to die. The soul of a Gondorian merged with the spirit of a great elf from the distant Second Age (spoiler!), and so an immortal ranger appeared in the world, instilling fear in all Uruks from the foothills of the Efel Duat to the ridges of Ered Lithui.

Acrobatics turned out not very convenient. Talion can fly up giant walls in two jumps, but he constantly grabs the wrong ledges and gets stuck in the beams every other time.

Even Peter Jackson's films aren't as dark as Shadow of Mordor. But the lands of Mordor are different, let's be honest, and you won't show them.

There is nothing to be surprised that at first, Talion is only engaged in the fact that he releases ur at whose guts, both in open combat and attacking surreptitiously. The elven ghost allows him not only to hide in the bushes, but also briefly become invisible, instantly teleport to the enemy behind his back and strike the Morgoths of the offspring with ghostly arrows no worse than Beleg Cutalion.

One thing is somewhat upsetting in this tactical variety: blind-sighted opponents with a complete lack of peripheral vision. They take only in numbers, but together with their captains, fortunately, they already pose a real danger.

Combat is built on the mechanics of the series from Rocksteady, spectacular, and the controls are very responsive, but it's all too...familiar.	Over time, the Uruks become smarter, and Talion, having gained experience, masters so many ways to deal with them that you forget about your relationship with Batman.

Ash nazg gimbatul

The Uruks have a clear hierarchy: each major holding is overseen by five commanders - strong and ferocious warriors who can compete with Azog the Conqueror and Boldog, and many leaders of a lower rank are subordinate to them. And first of all, we will have to “talk” with them.

To defeat an Uruk, you need to think like an Uruk. The structure of the tribe of Morgoth is anarchic: the leaders constantly quarrel, cut each other's throats, set up ambushes, in a word, fight for power in every possible way. All information is displayed on your map, use it. We learned about the duel of two leaders - show up in the midst of the battle and slam both. Heard about a feast in honor of the promotion of one of the Uruks - pour poison into their grog there. You can spit on it, but then, declaring to one of the commanders, get ready to confront another hundred Uruks, accompanied by a couple of bodyguard leaders.

The most ordinary Uruk, which you did not finish off an hour ago, can also rise to the rank of leader. He can even chase after you and remember a couple of scars left by your sword when he meets you.

Initially, we do not know anything about the leaders, but by interrogating ordinary orcs, you can find out names, locations and information about vulnerabilities. The latter is especially important and valuable.	Over time, Talion will learn to subdue the Uruks. At one word, a reformed captain will set a trap for his comrade, or even betray and kill the general he serves.

All events related to the struggle for power can take place without your participation. If you “squander” time or die, you will see everything that happened while Talion was away: who killed whom, who earned a promotion, who passed the test and received a “levelap”, and so on.

Orcs live their lives. Moreover, they remember every meeting with you: for example, if you failed to defeat the captain and gave up, then the next time he will say something about your cowardice. If you threw the Uruk into the fire, but did not finish it off, then he will meet you in burns. If you allow one of the ordinary soldiers to finish you off, he will be promoted, and in the future he will definitely remember this.

All this is the widely advertised Nemesis System. Minimum funds Shadow of Mordor makes you see randomly generated Uruk leaders as your natural enemies. You will eliminate some in an instant, you will chase others for hours - and this turns out to be much more interesting than the main story.

Ash nazg thrakatulyk

The history of Shadow of Mordor depends heavily on this "Game of Thrones". No canonical epicness, only harsh, raw and dirty guerrilla warfare. Before the events of The Lord of the Rings, there is still a good half a century, Sauron is weak and has not yet had time to raise an army, and we are dealing with small scattered tribes who are just preparing for war in free lands.

Meet Myron, aka Gorthaur, aka Sauron. It seems to us that it has never been shown anywhere else.

A couple of familiar faces and names will still light up, but they are usually needed only to open up a new ability to the heroes. Local heroes are potentially interesting, but they disappear from history without having time to really participate in it.

We have never seen such Arda. Shadow of Mordor shows Mordor in a new light: Orodruin is still sleeping, and the “terrible land of fear and darkness” is covered not with a thick layer of ash, but with arable land, greenery and flowers. The available territory stretches from the foothills of Udun and the Black Gates to the very coast of the Nurnen Sea (these lands are even described in passing in the book). Here we even see outcasts, local residents, even though the Uruks drove almost everyone into slavery.

True, sometimes it seems as if we are busy with some kind of nonsense, and the fate of the world will be perfectly decided even without Talion. Something more or less large-scale is unfolding in the memories of the ghost elf, but whoever has read The Silmarillion already knows everything.

Agh burzum-ishi krimpatul

The notorious Nemesis System is the perfect find for a free sandbox game. It creates stories, creates the appearance of a living world, creates a connection between you and your opponents. But here it is too tightly tied to the main campaign: when you pass it (and this will happen soon) and all the generals of Sauron are defeated, the point in hunting for leaders will disappear. The game thickly hints that the war is not over yet, but in my case, by the end, almost all the leaders were on my side, and there was simply no one to fight with.

The Lord of the Rings universe has many fans. No wonder it is used in the industry as well. computer games.

Projects, one way or another related to it, come out annually. This and MMO world, and strategy and first-person games.

To be honest, it was not possible to play each of them, but what I saw left much to be desired in terms of implementation, graphics and plot linearity. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is another project in this rich universe, but it has its own twist. And what attracted us to it, we will tell further.

The first is the plot, the developers did not choose part of the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings books, but went their own way. The events unfolding in the game are in between these stories, in fact, there is room for fantasy and plot choice. Fans of these books, the game will be interesting from this point of view.

In Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, as the name suggests, Mordor will become the central region.

This is the period when this corner was destroyed by the free peoples of Middle-earth, but it began to rebuild. Main character- Talion, died with his wife at the hands of the servants of Sauron. It was not there, death refused to accept him, leaving the ranger to wander between the worlds, the company in these wanderings will be the soul of Celebrimbor, it was he who forged the rings of omnipotence.

Despite deviations from the book, familiar characters are waiting for us in the game. One of them is Gollum, the character is drawn in detail and recognizable from the film by Peter Jackson.

If earlier in games attention was paid specifically to Middle-earth, then in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor we have the opportunity to study in detail the very abode of evil - Mordor, to see how the orcs live and how Sauron gained strength.

Of course, the story part is all good, but the basis of any game is the gameplay. Let's start with the combat system. From the first minutes, the feeling that this is Batman in a new cover does not leave. The same dynamics of the battle, the mechanics of blows, but here it is finalized. And attention, the age limit has been added, now you can fully water the Orcs with blood and crush the skulls of the Uruks.

It seems to me exactly combat system and draws attention to the project, there is no boring sorting through 1-2 buttons. The main character has three weapons in his arsenal at once - a dagger, a sword and a bow.

Likeness to Batman by W.Bros. observed in the construction of the game world, it is open. Fast travel is available, and there are also towers that need to be opened as you travel.

The mission system is similarly implemented, there is both a main storyline and many secondary tasks. Some of them will allow you to improve your skills or just practice your skills. The player in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor does not have to follow the story.

At the first meeting, it was the secondary tasks, intrigues and the destruction of Sauron's army that attracted me more than the main missions themselves, the whole working day flew by for this murder of leaders and captains. At first, it is very difficult to find the strength and put the game on pause.

The graphics component is smartly worked out, at maximum settings everything looks realistic.

Diversity in the picture makes the weather and detailed drawing. Speaking of the latter, the orcs here are exactly what you want them to be, they feel closer to the movie The Hobbit, and not to the Lord of the Rings.

We also worked on the animation of the orcs, there is no feeling of monotony. Here we also recommend that especially impressionable people play Barbie Online, bloodthirstiness with a margin. But not without humour.

During the game, the feeling of the game Assasins Creed does not leave, although even here you can remember Batman due to jumping and overcoming obstacles, as well as stealth killings. The jumps themselves do not always correctly move the hero to the right place, there are freezes and the inability to overcome obstacles.

During the passage, you can move not only on your "two", but also saddle the beast. Calling him to his service, the mount helps to crush the hordes of Uruks, and also frightens especially impressionable captains.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor wins the "Gold" award..

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In the bearded 2014, I remember, it became an unexpectedly pleasant surprise for us from the category of “what technology has come to”, although there was little faith in it. Story game with a complex ecosystem of procedurally generated opponents? Aha, found the fools! Leave these fables to Peter Molyneux with his real-time growing trees, and tell Sean Murray along the way. Fantasy is everything, there is no such thing, period.

Monolith proved that it does happen. Their miracle mechanic Nemesis, capable of riveting dozens of quite tolerable antagonists from the orcish consumer goods of Middle-earth, somehow successfully came to life and actually pulled out an otherwise ordinary sandbox action game. The concept came out unusual and entertaining enough that even many Tolkien gamers, having recovered from an overdose of non-canon, eventually recognized the right to exist for such a free fan fiction.

Shadow of War, by and large, also does everything right. The law of sequel succession does not violate, does not contradict advertising brochures, gives out classic promises about “the same thing, but more” - give or take an exemplary continuation. This, however, is the problem: so the same and so we didn't need more.

It is, of course, good when new game copies best ideas predecessors. The already mentioned system of sworn enemies is expectedly pleasing even now, even though it has not undergone cardinal changes and, on the whole, works according to familiar rules. The neighborhood is still inhabited by orcs of all sorts and ranks, whose randomly assigned personalities we are free to chop with a sword or recruit to the light side of the Force. The essence is similar, only the nuances of interaction have slightly increased.

One of the most notable improvements is that captains now adapt to your combat style as they go. If you persist in spamming, say, combos with stuns, for the umpteenth time, the Uruk will figure out your tactics and get the hang of hitting back with defensive attacks. Some clever ones are even able to overcome their own weaknesses, which is why they have to rely not only on a dry list of vulnerabilities, but also on their ingenuity in battle.

In addition, the free people of Mordor were grouped into tribes, but the decision is more organizational than functional. That is, some features are no longer distributed in a chaotic way, but directly depend on the breed: they say that only Mystics will counterattack with teleportation, Marauders shoot pathetically from two hands, and Horror supporters possess Kratos blades on chains. In a skirmish or two, this will help to estimate by eye what kind of trump cards the opponent has up his sleeve, but that's all.

Throughout the game, the feeling that this porridge with the tribes is corny undercooked does not leave. They were given a unique design, distinctive combat features, erected monuments, even dedicated a whole line of trailers - but in reality there is practically no use. Beautiful, spectacular, but, uh, why? Considering that the demon-possessed orcs are also not averse to waging long graters, it would be great to at least bring clan feuds here with the ability to add fuel to the fire of internecine wars.

The rest is all the little things of behavioral algorithms, which nevertheless smooth out the unevenness of the generator and give the overall picture credibility. Here the toothy muzzle accurately notices that you crept up to her from a hill, there the cowardly leader justifies himself that last time he "did not run away, but retreated." Even later, the blood brother of the berserk killed a couple of hours ago ambushed, and your bodyguard stabbed you in the back, because he was tired of falling under the hot hand of his master. Whatever happens, Shadow of War seems to have a reaction prepared for all occasions, and you can't stop marveling at this for a long time.

A carefully planned betrayal is in full swing. Another moment, and the leader will learn a lot about his retinue

With a lot of fun tools at his disposal, the Nemesis virtual director at times puts together much more personalized, collaborative and complex scenes than before. In my playthrough, one such story dragged on from the very prologue, when I left the enemy captain to die from the bites of poisonous insects. He, however, did not just cheat death, but returned as a literal lord of flies with the nickname a la "Grisha Mushin" and the clear intention of killing me.

Retaliation at the very last moment is prevented by the allied Uruk crossbowman, whom I once helped to get even with a long-time offender. Behind him, in the spotlight, my own sworn enemy from the first part of the game (praise the import function) appears and sarcastically wonders how many more sixes will jump out of the bushes when he puts me on my knees. Behind him at the same moment hangs a brutal olog-high with a mark on his entire green face. True, he does not say anything, but only with a heart-rending cry makes it clear that we are familiar before rushing forward. The battle begins - unequal, unexpected, but such my.

Sketches like this are the real beauty of Shadow of War. A large, complex system is nothing more than a skillful juggling of variables, but what comes out of it is an extremely personal and emotional experience. You remember enemies, you become saturated with hatred for them, moreover, it is purely subjective. The ill-fated Grisha Mushiny must die not so much according to the plot order, but because you have your own scores with him.

Unfortunately, everything that was bad in Shadow of Mordor, and in particular everything that was bad in it now, the sequel also inherits doubts without a shadow (hah!) This is absolutely the same insipid openworld 2014 bottling, down to the smallest detail such as the skill tree, animation of battles and camera angles. Okay, then it was, if not cool and juicy, then at least tolerable, but now in the area for the combat system “like Batman” they are publicly ridiculed.

The only major update in the circus program is the siege of fortresses. Each of the regions available in the game is equipped with a stronghold, the privatization of which will sooner or later be asked to be done. And although this process differs little from that shown at E3, personally taking part in it turned out to be not very exciting.

What looked like uniform total war from a third person and with Mount Doom in the background, in fact it turned out to be a primitive mini-game about capturing control points. Around, of course, there is a natural extravaganza: the sky is lined with catapult shells, trolls are hammering into the walls, dozens of orcs in front of the gates are burning in dragon flames and all that other stuff - the spectacle is really epic and bewitching the first few times. There she is, war! Here it is, The Lord of the Rings!

And then you stand in a strictly designated area and perform the same combat pirouettes learned over the course of three years. For nothing more is required of you.

A change of scenery in general does not in any way affect the rules of the game, except that four times as many assorted husks with axes rush from all sides, for the extermination of which they don’t even give experience. The vaunted interaction between friendly captains and generals of the enemy comes down to a couple of funny remarks before the start, and the final meeting with the head of the institution, throne room of which 70% consists of flamethrowers built into the floor, resembles the first three-dimensional adventure games, although it looks like an attempt to make an exciting boss fight.

Moreover, the variability of the siege does not shine. A seedy fort differs from a gigantic castle only in the number of capture points, and various defensive structures are more often ignored than they pose a serious threat. You don’t have tasks that are unique for a particular fortress, or any strategy in action, or even a curious level design - if you please, enjoy the missions stamped for volume, which get bored much faster than it seems to the game itself.

The long-awaited dragon has been added to the range of mounts

This, by the way, applies to the entire Shadow of War - it simply does not know the measure. The mediocre open world of the first part did not last long because it was exhausted in an adequate 15-20 hours, if you do not stay long in the lengthy descriptions of the lore. The sequel not only did not follow suit, but, on the contrary, doubled or tripled everything that was at least somehow inflated.

Here, for 10 hours, they only explain to us the principles of operation of their grandiose systems. From the user's point of view, Nemesis and sieges, of course, are not furnished in the most obvious way, but the tutorial is so slow and meticulous that you get tired of the game without really learning how to manage it.

Yes, and the new sandbox, frankly, does not give reasons for delight. Standard gatherings, outpost capture, randomly generated encounters with captains, side quests about saving 218 prisoners of war and poisoning 46 vats of grog - everything is as before (or as in any other project), only in an exaggerated form. Instead of two locations, they made five, colorful and colorful on the outside, but just as empty and thoroughly hostile on the inside.

And now there is loot here. Armor, daggers, bows, swords and other elements of the wardrobe are constantly pouring out of opponents, monuments, quests, and just like that, which it is advisable to change clothes once in eternity for the sake of the cherished “+0.0002% damage”, and the rest of the time - mercilessly convert into money. The latter are usually spent on siege upgrades and now hated loot boxes.

We will not delve into the debate about the ethical side of microtransactions - in fact, no one imposes them, but for the advantage in single player, must be happy to pay the same people who drain their salaries for knives in CS:GO. But let's say it anyway: there's nothing dumber in all of Shadow of War than a crate store.

For the elementary reason that this idea itself is sewn here with white threads and knocks out of the atmosphere more than annoying prompts on a third of the screen and unsightly interface elements. The idea that someone seriously admitted that in the war-torn Middle-earth there is a place for trips to weapons shops and gambling pursuit of "legendaries", excites me even more than the commercialism of modern publishers.

If anything, the orcs were also equated for some reason with the drop from purchased cases. The best examples of "Nemesis" still walk around calmly in virtual spaces - so what is it for? A sparkling Marauder-bard, performing verses about our shameful death, can be found on his own, and you can train him to the level of "donate" comrades in a matter of minutes, since there are a lot of opportunities for this on the story path.

Oh right! Somewhere in the bowels of Shadow of War there is still a plot, but over the past time it has not evolved much, and has remained a substrate for the orcish "Game of Thrones". No ranger Talion and his bodymate, the ghostly elf Celebrimbor, forge a new Ring of Power and continue their crusade to Sauron. In general, everything.

To be fair, the story has been spruced up a little with a few parallel arcs, and yet the feeling that instead of a story has been slipped into some kind of stupid tribute to the stars of Mordor, one still cannot get rid of. Yes, the heroes will meet Shelob, visit the future Minas Morgul, give a savory kick to the balrog, cross swords with the Witch-king himself and much more - this is all excellent fan service, of course, but in a significant storyline it doesn't add up.

But it is not for nothing that we are talking about the plot at the end: Shadow of War, as expected, is more about game mechanics than about a coherent script and high-quality production. Only now the mechanisms fail her again, leaving the ingenious concept of Nemesis without a decent gameplay reinforcement.

The game needed changes, not standard sequel improvements. Where it leans towards RPG, you want a real role-playing game instead of sketchy appendages - maybe even a little through the European prism. Where strategy is seen, the soul is torn to tactical tricks and thoughtful sieges. Where, in the end, it is necessary to fight, a combat system is asked that has not remained in the backyard of the past generation.